Emmerdale fans were laughing tonight at a surprise twist which saw Moira Barton scatter the ashes of a dead dog, believing it to be a human's remains.

She made the rather large faux pas after discovering an urn in the boot of Patrick's stolen car containing the remains of a mysterious "Terry".

Of course, some clever viewers took to Twitter to predict the eventual outcome.

One wrote: "Terry's going to be a dog or something, isn't he?"

Another said: "Dont feel too bad Moira, Terry is obviously a dog!"

Others agreed - and they were right!

Moira tells Ross they need to scatter the ashes, although he wants to dump them (Image: ITV)

It all started when Moira went to meet Patrick at the start of the episode and he told her about the stolen car, currently sitting in Moira's barn.

He then revealed an urn was in the boot.

“Terry was my best friend,” said an upset Patrick. “I was planning on scattering them somewhere befitting but I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”

Ross said he'd get rid of the car if Moira dealt with the ashes (Image: ITV)

A desperate Moira phoned Ross to check he hadn’t flogged the car yet, fearing the ashes would lead to it being identified as Patrick’s missing motor.

Ross had found the ashes himself and ordered Moira to dump them.

“I’m not going to just dump it, this was a person who doesn’t belong in a skip,” said an indignant Moira. “You get rid of the car and I’ll disperse these somewhere fitting.”

Moira decided to scatter the ashes herself, telling Victoria that it was a local farmer who had passed away. Victoria then decided to come with Moira, which was rather awkward.

Moira chucked the ashes in Victoria's face! (Image: ITV)

The women trekked to the top of the hill to scatter the ashes, with Moira saying a few words beforehand, sticking to her dead farmer story.

“Terry, I don’t know who you were but I’m sure you were a lovely guy, a hard grafter. Look on the bright side, no more early mornings milking the cows - if you had a dairy farm, that is. Or lambing season. No more frostbite or windburn. Anyway, I’m sure you don’t deserve to just be discarded so we are here sending you away with best wishes.”

It wasn’t the most elegant of endings however, as Moira opened the urn and promptly threw the ashes in poor Victoria’s face.

Patrick called Moira red-handed and called the police (Image: ITV)

Things then got a whole lot worse: Patrick, worried about Moira’s behaviour during their meeting, had come to visit her just as Ross drove the stolen car out of the barn. Patrick obviously identified his car so, when he saw two flashlights up on the hill, he decided to investigate.

And found Moira and Victoria covered in ashes.

Viewers were in hysterics, taking to Twitter to praise the show's writers and the cast's acting.

One wrote: "Emmerdale is hilarious! Poor Terry!"

Another said: "Emmerdale was so funny tonight poor Victoria. Ashes to Ashes Dirt to Dirt."

A third added: "Vic falling for the lies is so funny. She wants to come and help Moira scatter the ashes."

“You stole my car and you stole my greyhound’s ashes,” said Patrick, confirming the viewers’ theory and stunning Moira. “Your contract done, over. All for a car and a dead dog.”

He also broke the news he’d called the police - what does this mean for Moira?